In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue! I remember that opening line to a poem I learned as an elementary school child. That poem commemorates the date (August 3, 1492) that Christopher Columbus left Spain with his fleet of three ships named the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, to find a new sea route to China and India. Today is the day we officially commemorate the landing of Columbus and his three ships in the New World.

In the spirit of Columbus and his willingness to look fear in the eye, I have a suggestion today for all of you who procrastinate doing something important in your life. Perhaps today is the perfect time for you to be brave, engage the unknown and set sail just as Columbus did. And I suggest that you also take with you three ships of a different sort, the same three that accompanied Dorothy on her epic voyage in “The Wizard of OZ.” These three pseudo ships are called Courage, Bravery and Wisdom. So, in the spirit of Columbus and Dorothy, I suggest that you begin to engage that thing you’ve been avoiding and share that great feeling of exploration and discovery that the explorer felt all those years ago.